When you least expect
by beforeandafter
Summary: "I admit I had a little trouble concentrating, the run from Central City to Kazakhstan beforehand, takes it out of me even just under the speed of light. If only there was a zeta tube system there." "Uh, Barry," Iris' voice floats back, "We have a guest."


**Title**: When you least expect.

**Rating:** G/K +

**Word Count**: 990

**Characters**: Barry Allen/ The Flash, Iris West-Allen, Wally West.

**Pairings**: Barry/Iris.

**Summary:** "I admit I had a little trouble concentrating, the run from Central City to Kazakhstan beforehand, takes it out of me even just under the speed of light. If only there was a zeta tube system there." "Uh, Barry," Iris' voice floats back, "We have a guest."

**A/N:** Well my second post was that there should be more Barry Allen YJ fanfiction, and I'm pretty sure it was Gandhi that said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world" so here we are. Ah, this was written before episode three of Invasion aired, so there are some things that are a little different to how canon actually played out.

* * *

Barry wends his way through the streets of Central City towards the modest home he and Iris shared, feeling every one of his forty years. The last two months for the league had been hard considering they had lost eight of their more prominent members and the other two Green Lanterns have yet to return to earth, so Captain Atom has had the remaining members pulling extra shifts to make up for the slag as well as trying to further figure out the exact plot that the Light have up their sleeve and the very real possibility of an alien invasion. That combined with looking after his personal territory of Central City and his day job as a forensic scientist, Barry, even as the fastest man alive, is having the tiniest bit of trouble juggling it all, he could only begin to imagine what the other others were going through.

He slips through the quiet suburban street without any trouble and at a speed where the only trace of him anyone would see might be a fading blur of red from the corner of their eye that could easily be passed off as a trick of the light. Normally he would change somewhere and walk home to avoid suspicion but at the moment all he wants is to get home to Iris. He circles to the back of the house, vibrates through the backdoor and pulls the cowl away from his face the moment he is standing in the back room.

"Iris? You home?"

"Yes, I'm in the living room."

He rubs his hands down his face and walks towards the kitchen, he isn't particularly hungry but he needs to do something easy and reflexive and it's the first thing that springs to mind. He rummages through the fridge as he calls back to her.

"Sorry, I'm later than I said I would be but a bunch of league stuff came up. Captain Atom made the meeting go on longer because he wanted to further discuss the impacts of the Kroloteans and the risk of anymore aliens coming to earth"

No, nothing in there or at least nothing he could eat quickly. The freezer?

"Not to mention what the Light might be up to. And what it means to have so many leaguers off world. We're stretched a little thin even with Nightwing and the team's help."

Ice cream would have been good but they are out of choc-mint and he didn't really feel like rocky road. That leaves the cupboard. He closes the freezer door and pulls open the cupboard. There is a party packet of lollies open, so he grabs a hand full before nosing further and spies a packet of chips.

"I admit I had a little trouble concentrating, the run from Central City to Kazakhstan beforehand, takes it out of me even just under the speed of light. If only there was a zeta tube system there."

He begins to leisurely eat the chips. Take back what he said before, he is hungry.

"Uh, Barry," Iris' voice floats back, "We have a guest."

Those four words cause Barry to choke on the chips he had just shallowed. A guest? He had just been speaking about the league, about hero business. He had just blown his secret identity. After sixteen years he had blown his secret identity, in his own home of all places. His thoughts speed up working its way through all possibilities. There had been no car out the front, so it wasn't someone that lived far into the city so a neighbour perhaps. Barry fought away a wince; please don't let it be Mrs Hallman from across the road, that lady was a notorious gossip.

He forces the chips down as best he can; ignoring the way the sharp edges scrap down his throat and feel heavy as they travel through his digestive system.

"Who?"

He tries to make as offhand as he can while internally he is trying to figure out how the heck to fix this. Play it off as a joke? Come clean? See who it is then make up the best way to go about it?

"Why don't you come and see yourself?"

He stares down at the scarlet suit and quickly changes from it before strolling into the lounge room ready to give out any excuse and reason he can possibly think of to get out of this. To be honest he had been expecting a lot of different people to be sitting with Iris in their living room, a neighbour (still hopefully not Mrs Hallman), a work colleague, hell even a door to door salesman even though she didn't like them.

However the one person he hadn't been expecting as he walks around the corner is looking at him with laughing green eyes over the rim of a coffee mug. Very familiar green eyes, eyes that are the same colour as the women he married, who is currently looking at him with a little smirk on her face. The frantic panicky feeling that Barry had been feeling only seconds earlier settles and fades to be replaced with disbelief and relief. He gives the aunt and nephew a mock glare.

"Very funny, you know the two of you almost gave me a heart attack."

The playful glint in Wally's becomes brighter.

"That was the general idea, old man."

There is a deep amusement in his voice before he takes a sip and places the mug down on the coffee table.

"So, did ya miss me?"

Barry can't help but laugh.

"Like a tooth ache, Kid."

He leans down to kiss Iris on the cheek before straightening.

"That was cruel."

She grins a little wider and stands, patting him affectionately on the cheek.

"Serves you right for not double checking before opening your mouth. You're normally more careful than that."

He sighs. She's right of course, she's always right.


End file.
